Before his illness, Heisley, a Chicago native worth nearly $2 billion, was reportedly interested in buying the Milwaukee Bucks.

Heisley sold the Grizzlies last year to Robert Pera for a reporters $377 million. He purchased the team for $160 million shortly before it left Vancouver in 2001 and steered the franchise to Memphis. Also under his watch was the opening of the $250 million FedExForum in 2004.

The team, after a long stretch of bad drafts, has emerged as an annual playoff participant. In Heisley's 11 years as owner, they made the postseason five times. In 2012-13, their first with Pera as owner, they've racked up a 40-19 record and currently hold the fourth seed in the Western Conference. They've gone 11-4 since controversially trading forward Rudy Gay to the Toronto Raptors. Gay is in the third year of a five-year, $82 million max contract, and the move was designed to keep the Grizzlies away from the luxury tax.